‘Corruption fight will continue’ – Ex MP Mayadunne

Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) former National List MP and former Auditor General Sarathchandra Mayadunne told The Nation he hoped to carry on his fight against corruption as a member of the civil society, although he was unsure whether he would be accepted now.

“I spoke out against corruption during my tenure as Auditor General and even after I retired. However, I did so as a member of the civil society who had no political affiliations. Therefore, it remains to be seen whether that the same civil society would accept me now, given that one could argue I am not politically neutral anymore as I went to Parliament as an MP of a political party,” he pointed out.

Mayadunne went onto say that in the event a civil society organization is prepared to accept him, and if he has a favorable view of the organization, he would definitely join with them.

He said he chose to resign from his position as an MP as the result of the August 17 General Election reflected that the electorate had largely approved the prevailing corrupt political culture.

Speaking to The Nation on his decision to resign, Mayadunne, further pointed out that about 95 percent of the electorate outside the North and East had voted for the two main political parties, the United National Party (UNP) and the United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA), despite the numerous allegations of corruption against them. “There was a widely held public perception that these two parties were engaged in corruption. However, neither of these parties publicly said such corruption was wrong. Instead, they both claimed that these were just allegations and were legally unproven”.

The parties also did not take sufficient opportunities to debate these allegations in Parliament to disprove them, he further alleged. Noting that the vast majority of the public still voted for these two main parties despite this, the former MP said it showed that a majority of the electorate had failed to reject these corrupt elements. “In such a scenario, I cannot function in Parliament as an MP,” he said.